WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?Leadership is an interactive conversation that pulls people toward becoming comfortable with the language of personal responsibility and commitment.

LEADERSHIP TIPS“The crux of leadership development that works is self-directed learning: intentionally developing or strengthening an aspect of who you are or who you want to be, or both.” Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis & Annie McKee (Harvard Business School Press)

The Liberal Arts of Leadership

The primary task of management as a liberal art is to provide leadership for human beings to help them fulfill the mission of the organization.

Historically, the definition of a liberal art was a skill or craft practiced by a free citizen with time and means for study, a member of the elite, ruling classes of society. Liberal arts training meant training citizens to be society's leaders. As such, the ideals of an arts liberales education were to instill standards of conduct and character, knowledge and mastery of a body of texts, a respect for social values and standards, and an appreciation for knowledge and truth.

Today, there is a global search for answers to some of life's most important questions, such as "why am I here?" and "what is my purpose?" Instilling a liberal arts mentality involves an ever-shifting search for the best way to foster values based on tradition, even though that tradition may morph through time. It is to take seriously the counsel of Socrates to examine one's life, for "the unexamined life is not worth living."

In the revised edition of Management, Peter Drucker, a thinker and the first executive coach who was always ahead of his time, called management a liberal art:

Management is thus what tradition used to call a liberal art: "liberal" because it deals with the fundamentals of knowledge, self knowledge, wisdom and leadership; "art" because it is practice and application. Managers [should] draw on all the knowledge and insights of the humanities and the social sciences--on psychology and philosophy, on economics and history, on ethics as well as on the physical sciences. But they have to focus this knowledge on effectiveness and results--on healing a sick patient, teaching a student, building a bridge, designing and selling a "user friendly" software program. (Drucker, 2008, p. 25)

Drucker believed that management would be the key to keeping the liberal arts sentiment alive in today's society. He saw an important relationship between the two forms of training. The liberal arts can bring wisdom and self-knowledge to the practice of management, while management can "be the discipline and the practice through and in which the 'humanities' will again acquire recognition, impact and relevance" (Drucker, 2008, p. 25). And practicing leadership as a liberal art might, in fact, return management to its original, intended professional status.

In recent years, there has been a virtual explosion of books and articles on leadership, as well as entire journals dedicated to the exploration of leadership qualities, stylesand models. For Drucker, leadership is about communicating with people, uniting them behind a shared mission and values, and mobilizing energies toward accomplishing the mission or purpose of an organization. An effective leader leads followers with dignity, and inspires them toward achievement. That means that leadership is a means to an end--the mission it serves is the end.

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The Liberal Arts of Leadership

The primary task of management as a liberal art is to provide leadership for human beings to help them fulfill the mission of the organization.

Historically, the definition of a liberal art was a skill or craft practiced by a free citizen with time and means for study, a member of the elite, ruling classes of society. Liberal arts training meant training citizens to be society's leaders. As such, the ideals of an arts liberales education were to instill standards of conduct and character, knowledge and mastery of a body of texts, a respect for social values and standards, and an appreciation for knowledge and truth.

Today, there is a global search for answers to some of life's most important questions, such as "why am I here?" and "what is my purpose?" Instilling a liberal arts mentality involves an ever-shifting search for the best way to foster values based on tradition, even though that tradition may morph through time. It is to take seriously the counsel of Socrates to examine one's life, for "the unexamined life is not worth living."

In the revised edition of Management, Peter Drucker, a thinker and the first executive coach who was always ahead of his time, called management a liberal art:

Management is thus what tradition used to call a liberal art: "liberal" because it deals with the fundamentals of knowledge, self knowledge, wisdom and leadership; "art" because it is practice and application. Managers [should] draw on all the knowledge and insights of the humanities and the social sciences--on psychology and philosophy, on economics and history, on ethics as well as on the physical sciences. But they have to focus this knowledge on effectiveness and results--on healing a sick patient, teaching a student, building a bridge, designing and selling a "user friendly" software program. (Drucker, 2008, p. 25)

Drucker believed that management would be the key to keeping the liberal arts sentiment alive in today's society. He saw an important relationship between the two forms of training. The liberal arts can bring wisdom and self-knowledge to the practice of management, while management can "be the discipline and the practice through and in which the 'humanities' will again acquire recognition, impact and relevance" (Drucker, 2008, p. 25). And practicing leadership as a liberal art might, in fact, return management to its original, intended professional status.

In recent years, there has been a virtual explosion of books and articles on leadership, as well as entire journals dedicated to the exploration of leadership qualities, stylesand models. For Drucker, leadership is about communicating with people, uniting them behind a shared mission and values, and mobilizing energies toward accomplishing the mission or purpose of an organization. An effective leader leads followers with dignity, and inspires them toward achievement. That means that leadership is a means to an end--the mission it serves is the end.